Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is facing growing resistance from key Senate Republicans as President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Justice Department confronts questions about his independence, his handling of Jan. 6-related issues and a controversial compensation fund proposal that has drawn bipartisan criticism.

Trump announced this week that he intends to formally nominate Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and one-time personal attorney to the president, to serve as attorney general on a permanent basis after Blanche has led the department in an acting capacity since April.

 The nomination is expected to trigger a closely watched confirmation battle in the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority but cannot afford significant defections.

Several Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have not committed to supporting Blanche, creating uncertainty over whether the nomination can advance smoothly from the panel.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the challenges facing nominees in the current political environment while noting that Republicans generally give deference to a president's Cabinet selections.

"Most of our members are pretty deferential to who the president wants in some of these key positions," Thune said. "He's obviously serving in the role already and clearly has experience in it, so that'll serve him well.”

"But this is an environment where nothing's a safe or sure bet these days."

One of the biggest obstacles for Blanche is scrutiny surrounding a proposed $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that was intended to compensate people who claimed they were unfairly targeted by the federal government. 

Critics from both parties argued the proposal could benefit some individuals who attacked Capitol Police officers on January 6, 2021 while attempting to prevent the certification of former President Joe Biden's election victory. The Justice Department ultimately abandoned the plan after facing political opposition and legal challenges.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the issue is likely to dominate Blanche's confirmation hearing.

"I think what we need to do right now is focus on the 1776 fund, or he's not going to have a very good time in the Judiciary Committee," Tillis said. "Just think about what the Democrats will do to him."

Tillis also said lawmakers would closely examine Blanche's past comments concerning Jan. 6 defendants.

"It’s not a gray area for me," Tillis said. "Either he equivocated and said harming these Capitol police officers was an OK thing, or he didn't, and we'll find that in the due diligence."

Another concern among some Republicans is whether Blanche can maintain sufficient independence from Trump after serving as the president's defense attorney in multiple high-profile criminal cases before joining the Justice Department. 

Blanche represented Trump in the New York case involving falsified business records and federal investigations brought by former Special Counsel Jack Smith before being confirmed as deputy attorney general in 2025.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said lawmakers will seek assurances that Blanche can separate his loyalty to the president from his responsibilities as the nation's top law enforcement officer.

"Being attorney general is probably one of the hardest jobs in the Cabinet, because you're working for the president, but you're also supposed to be able to tell the president no," Cornyn said. "So we need to talk about that."

Democrats are expected to uniformly oppose the nomination, making support from nearly every Republican senator critical to Blanche's confirmation prospects. 

His previous nomination as deputy attorney general passed the Senate largely along party lines, but lawmakers from both parties now appear prepared to subject his record as acting attorney general to far more intense scrutiny.